Weather
by kitsuneasika
Summary: PaulDawn. Whether it's rain or snow, fog or wind, Dawn will prevail. Eventually.
1. Rain

**I do not own Pokemon in any shape or form.**

Oh, wow. It feels so weird posting the first part of this on the same day I post the last part on my fanfic livejournal. XD Merry Christmas, everyone!

And a million thanks to cutiedogsapphire for looking over this for me.**

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**"It's raining," Dawn said, and immediately regretted it. Paul turned, and just looked at her for a moment. In that moment, she flushed, part anger and part embarrassment. So what if she was stating the obvious? she thought defensively. Besides, if it hadn't been raining, then nothing would have induced her to stand besides him under this overhanging rock, shivering.

As if he had read her thoughts, Piplup chirped a forceful agreement.

Actually, when she thought about it, he was probably just defending her raining statement.

It was all Team Rocket's fault, she stewed, getting more annoyed the more she thought about it. Usually their antics just irritated her, but today-- well, today wasn't her day. And it had been going so nicely too, until they showed up. They just _had_ to burst in on a perfectly good lunch. And if that wasn't enough, they had somehow managed to get her completely separated from Ash and Brock! Then, as if to add a topping to the cake, she had gotten completely lost.

Still, it hadn't been that bad until it had started to rain. It was then she had searched for shelter, and it was then she had ended up stuck under a rock with _Paul_, of all people, cold and shivering. No matter how cute they were, short dresses were _not _suited to cold weather. Especially when soaked.

She sat down, hugging herself tightly in an attempt to warm up. Piplup squeezed himself against her even more closely then he had been before, trying to help. She smiled down at him, grateful. "Thank you, Piplup," she said quietly, surprised to find her bad mood disappearing. Sure, she was cold, wet, and shivering under a rock with Paul, but at least she had her Pokemon to support her.

Speaking of Paul-- she glanced up, quickly, to gauge his reaction. He didn't react-- in fact, there was no sign he had even heard her exchange with Piplup. Good, she thought, squeezing her legs closer towards her. She was trying very hard to keep her teeth from chattering-- there was no way she was going to embarrass herself like that!

She gave him another look. How was he able to stand there so unaffected-- oh. It was then she realized that he was completely dry. Of course, she thought, lightening up at the realization. He's the type of person who would see the storm coming ahead of time, and find shelter beforehand. Not like she and Ash and Brock, who always seemed to racing for shelter as the rain poured down on them. She looked down, finding herself smiling at her knees at the thought.

"It is," he said, suddenly, still looking straight ahead.

"Huh?" She looked back up once more.

He glanced at her. "It is raining, stupid girl," he said.

She could feel her temper rising, and she glared at him, desperately hoping her teeth wouldn't chatter and ruin the effect. She closed her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, and then opened her eyes and mouth to protest the insult, distantly wondering why Piplup wasn't already doing the same thing.

It was then she felt something very warm and very dry settle over her shoulders. "Eh?" was her intelligent reply as Paul moved away to stand in his former position. She blinked, tentatively touching that warm and dry thing. The proof was right there, but-- had he really done what she thought he did?

She glanced up in her surprise, and saw him leaning against the rock, looking straight ahead as if nothing had ever happened, as if he had never moved. But his jacket was missing, settled on her shoulders.

He wasn't blushing. Shouldn't stoic guys do that when they do something sweet? she grumbled to herself. Don't they usually get all red and embarrassed at doing something they wouldn't normally do?

Despite her thoughts, she smiled, and pulled the jacket a little tighter around her.

"Thank you," she said, and together they waited for the rain to stop.


	2. Fog

**I do not own Pokemon in any shape or form.**

Happy New Years, everyone!

And a million thanks to cutiedogsapphire for looking over this for me.

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"Hi," Dawn said, grinning brightly up at him. "Nice weather we're having, isn't it?"

Considering that the fog around her was so thick that she could only see Paul clearly when she was standing right next to him (or, in this case, in front of him), this was a bit of an exaggeration. A bit. Still she wasn't sure what to say to him-- other then a silly comment about the weather, of course-- after running into him once more while being lost. This time, however, the running into him part was literal.

Oh, sure, she had seen him a few times with Ash or Brock since that day in the rain, but it wasn't the same. She hadn't spoken to him, not really, since that rainstorm, and she hadn't really expected to. Not when Ash was around. Sometimes, Paul just walked away without a word. At other times, he and Ash just got into an argument of some sort. Everything was the same-- except for her.

Paul hadn't changed. She knew that. He acted the same, spoke the same, was the same person he had always been-- before and after that day in the rain. But her _perception_ of him had changed, somehow. Not that his ideas on Pokemon training didn't still make her boil, but-- she didn't seem to think that he was a terrible person anymore. The fact that she was actually glad to see him after getting lost proved it.

So there Dawn was, hopelessly lost in the fog in the middle of some forest, with Paul once more as her only companion. She had even somehow gotten separated from Piplup this time.

The said companion, unaware of her thoughts, gave her a searching look. "Hn." He turned.

"Wait!" She grabbed his backpack, giving it a quick tug. "That's not an answer, you know," she said when he looked back at her. She let go of the bag as she spoke, propping her hands on her hips.

"There's nothing I can say to something so stupid." He continued walking, quickly becoming just a shadowy figure. Dawn panicked.

"Hey!" She caught hold of the end of his jacket this time. He didn't stop, and she found herself trailing after him. Blushing, she let go and fell into step behind him. This way worked too, she supposed, sighing.

"Where are you going?" she asked, switching tactics. "It's not like you can see where you're going."

He chose to not answer.

"I bet you don't know where you're going," she said, just to keep up the conversation. "I bet that you're just wandering around, hoping to lose me. I bet that you--" She stopped, abruptly, as he turned and leaned against a convenient tree.

"--that you were just looking for a tree, weren't you?" she finished lamely, stepping right in front of him. Maybe she was too close, but that was the only way she could see his face clearly. He closed his eyes, leaning his head back. She sighed, suddenly wishing that Piplup was here.

"You know," she said, "if you talked more, this would be more enjoyable."

He didn't react, and once more she found her thoughts wandering to the last time they had been in this situation. Or a similar one, at any rate. She had been _freezing_ that day. Sure, the fog was a little chilly-- enough to make her rub her hands on her arms to warm them up-- but not that bad. She smiled, suddenly, and her cheeks grew warm as she remembered how she had finally warmed up.

She also remembered how Paul ididn't/i blush.

Her smile grew as a thought occurred to her. If Paul had kept his eyes open, he would have known immediately that she was planning something. That day, she had thought that it would have been-- well, _cute_, for a lack of a better word, if he had blushed.

It was decided then. She would get Paul to blush. Somehow, someway, she was going to make him embarrassed.

Dawn grinned.

"You know," she said, a little too loudly, "that was really nice of you, the other day. Lending me your jacket, that is."

He slid one eye open, and gave her a looked that clearly said, 'And your point is?'

She gave him an innocent smile. "I mean, I didn't expect it from you. It was unexpectedly sweet. _Very_ sweet, actually." She tilted her head a bit, hoping this would worked.

To her great surprise, Paul made a disgruntled sound and straightened up. "I _can_ take a hint, you know," he said.

"Huh?" She blinked, momentarily confused.

He shrugged out of his jacket, dropping his backpack in the process, and before she could say anything he dropped it on her head.

"But I--" she began, then stopped. She _was_ a little chilly. She began to smile as she quickly put the jacket on, enjoying the sudden warmth. She hugged it close, enjoyed the way the sleeves were just a bit too big. She pressed the sleeves to her face, hiding her smile in them. It was warm, really warm, and it smelled nice.

"Thank you," she said, dropping her arms and looking up at him.

He didn't blush, but she guessed it was okay.

After all, what fun would it be if she succeeded right away?


	3. Snow

**I do not own Pokemon in any shape or form.**

I keep forgetting that I haven't finished posting this on here. Whoops. One more chapter left!

A million thanks to cutiedogsapphire for looking over this for me!

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"Hey, look guys!" Ash called out, holding onto his hat as he pointed to a large cave in the distance. "We can take stop there!"

"I see it!" Dawn shouted back. Distantly, she could hear Brock shout his own agreement, but the words were lost to the swiftly falling snow. She held Piplup closer to her as they plodded though the snow. Vaguely, she wondered why the sudden changes in weather always happened to them.

Ash reached the cave first, with Brock and Dawn following a few moments later. The three of them stood there for a moment, looking around.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Dawn asked. "Let's go further in, and get away from this awful snow. I'm freezing!"

"Now you're talking!" Ash exclaimed. He adjusted his cap and grinned. "Let's go!" He took the lead, as always, and the other two followed.

As they went deeper into the cave, Dawn grew just slightly warmer. Now that was odd. Weren't caves usually chilly? Mount Coronet was, at any rate. She had expected it to be warmer then the outside, since there wasn't any snow or wind, but it wasn't supposed to be iwarm/i.

"That's odd," Brock said a few moments later. "Is it me, or is it getting warmer?"

"I noticed it too!" Dawn exclaimed. She smiled, pleased. So she iwasn't/i imagining it.

"So it's not just me. I wonder why..." Brock looked thoughtful.

"If we keep on going, maybe we'll find out why," Ash pointed out.

Pikachu nodded in agreement. "Pika-pi!"

They walked on in a near silence, with the occasional comment or observation puncturing it. It was nice, Dawn thought, walking like this. They were close enough that they didn't feel the need to fill the air up with random chatter, just to keep the awkwardness away.

Eventually they turned a corner, and were greeted by a familiar voice.

"Oh, great. It's you."

The cave ended in a round cavern, the roof of it not much bigger then in an average house. It wasn't much bigger then one of their usual campsites either. This isn't a very big cave, Dawn thought.

In the middle of this area was a crackling orange fire, apparently the source of the strange warmth. And besides that fire was Paul. He stood, crossing his arms as he looked at them.

Dawn's expression brightened. It was almost silly, she knew, to be so happy to see him. It wasn't like he would pay any attention to her-- he never did when Ash was around. And it wasn't like anything would happen-- not even a simple conversation. But still-- it was nice just seeing him.

"Paul!" Upon seeing his rival, Ash immediately went on the defensive. "What are you doing here?" he demanded.

"The same thing you are," he replied. "Avoiding the snow. Though, I did a much better job of it then you." He eyed the melting snow dripping off of their clothing and, in Dawn's case, hair.

She stifled a giggle, remembering her thoughts that day in the rainstorm. Sure enough, Paul iwas/i completely dry, unlike her and her friends.

Ash growled. "Hey!" he said, "I--"

Dawn let out a sharp sigh, her amusement evaporating and irritation taking its place. Ash stopped midsentence, looking towards her in his surprise. "Dawn?" he asked, wrinkling his forehead.

She set Piplup down on the floor, then straightened up, propping her hands on her hips. "Alright, will you two please not start arguing?" she scolded. "Like it or not, we're going to be sharing this cave for awhile, and it'll be easier for iall/i of us it you two just tried to get along!" They icould/i do it, she knew-- it wasn't like they hated each other. They just needed some sense slammed into them, that was all.

Ash, thankfully, looked suitably chastised. As usual, she had no idea what Paul was thinking. Brock, on the other hand, was giving her an odd look.

"What is it?" she asked him, dropping her hands to her sides.

"Nothing. It's just that I thought iI'd/i have to jump in and clear the air." The unspoken question was clear to her, and she fought to keep from blushing.

"I just wanted everyone to get along. It'd be pretty awkward if those two were snapping at each other." She bent to pick up Piplup again, hoping none of them would notice the blush that warmed her cheeks, or, if they did, that they'd attribute it to the cold weather. iEspecially/i not Paul.

An awkward silence threatened to fall, but Brock, as perceptive as always, diverted it. "I think it's about time for dinner. Paul, do you mind if I use this fire?"

Paul, who had leaned against the wall, closed his eyes. "Go ahead," he said.

"Thanks. Ash, will you hand me--" Quickly, the two were lost in the preparations. It was amusing to see Ash help with the actual cooking, but she knew that it was only so he'd be doing something other then standing around awkwardly. Brock could be so perceptive-- pity he didn't apply that when he was around uninterested girls.

She stifled another giggle. When her eyes returned to Paul, she was surprised to see him reading. Where had that book come from? she wondered.

A thought occurred to her. Now was as good of a chance as any to talk to him. And she might even think up another way to make him blush. She had not forgotten her plan-- how could she? She smiled, and started to make her way over to him. Piplup, who was still clasped tightly in her arms, looked up at her. He gave her a curious look. "Piplup?" he asked.

"Shh," she said, smiling as she brought a finger to her lips. Across the cave, Pikachu looked up from his place on Ash's shoulder. "Pika-pi?" he asked quietly, tilting his head.

"Hey Paul," she greeted him. "Snow's pretty cold, isn't it?"

He looked up from his book. "Is this going to be a habit? Starting a conversation with making an inane comment about the weather?" he asked.

"Maybe." She smiled, brightly. "But I could have worse habits."

"...True," he admitted.

"Besides," she continued, "It seems like the only time we ever have a conversation is when the weather is bad. I might as well say something about it."

"Has anyone ever told you that you're weird?"

"Hey!" she loudly protested, but there was no real anger in her voice. "Take that back!"

"It's the truth, isn't it?"

She stuck out her tongue at him. He sighed, returning to his book.

Despite the warm fire slowly drying her off, a chill raced through her. Probably a breeze or something, she thought, from all that snow flying around in that wind out there. Still, it was enough to give her an idea.

She set down Piplup, smiling to herself. This was ibound/i to make Paul blush-- if this didn't, she didn't know what would. She just didn't know why she hadn't thought of it sooner.

"Paul," she began, and something about the way she said it caught everyone in the area's attention. "Could I borrow your jacket again? I'm a little cold."

Brock's eyebrows shot up into his hairline.

"...Again?" Ash echoed, sounding more then a little confused.

Pikachu tilted his head, looking just as surprised as his trainer, and Piplup jumped up, staring at ihis/i trainer. "Pip!"

As for Paul, he--

didn't really react, to Dawn's disappointment. Not even a ihint/i of a blush, and she had just revealed his nice side. This, she decided, was not fair.

A moment later, she had to change her opinion again. Paul took his jacket off, and handed it to her without a word. If it were even possible, everyone became even more surprised-- Ash couldn't even say much beyond a few strangled sounds.

Still no blush. But, she thought as she pulled on his jacket for the third time, it wasn't a total loss. After all, she was wearing that nice jacket of his again.

"Thank you," she said, more quietly then she meant to.

"Hn."

Brock gave Dawn a searching look that she didn't see, and furrowed his brow as he came to his own conclusions. Satisfied, he stirred the meal a few more times, then, noticing how the silence that spread through the cave threatened to become awkward, he decided to break it in the only way he knew how.

"Who wants dinner?"


	4. Wind

**I do not own Pokemon in any shape or form. **

Last chapter! Thanks for reading.

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Dawn stood up, dusting any stray pieces of grass off of her skirt. "Hey you two," she said. "I'm going to take a walk, okay?"

The two boys barely spared her a glance, so engrossed they were in their activities. "Alright," Brock said, speaking for the both of them. "Don't be long-- lunch will be ready in half an hour."

"I won't," she reassured him. "I'm just going to take a look at the view from those hills we saw earlier."

"Pip?" Piplup glanced up from where he was playing with Pachirisu, his question clear by the expression he was making.

"Don't worry, Piplup," she said with a wave of her hand. "You can stay here. I'll be fine by myself." She looked around, seeing all of her Pokemon playing and just generally having fun. "Take care of yourselves while I'm gone, and don't get into any trouble!" she called out to them, her hands cupped around her mouth. She lowered them, smiling, then turned and walked into the trees.

They had come upon the clearing and the little stream running through it earlier in the day. It was such a pleasant place-- she didn't see why they couldn't stay longer. Evidently, her companions agreed with her, as they had quickly decided to take the day off. Setting up camp took no time at all, and they had let all of their Pokemon out from their Pokeballs.

Dawn let out a happy sigh, enjoying the way the breeze fluttered around her. It was a cool respite from the usual weather in such places.

Then again, she had been to quite a few cool places in the last few months, hadn't she? When it was sunny, which was most of the time, it was hot, but when it rained or grew misty it would be _cold_. And she wasn't even going to get started on the snow.

Still, despite all of this she welcomed the breeze. It was just right. Not too forceful nor too lax.

It was as she was thinking this that she stepped out from the trees, the aforementioned hills in her sight. Without the trees to buffer it, the nice little breeze became a wind, tossing her hair every which way and chafing her skin with its cold force.

"Great," she said, grumpily. "I just had to jinx it." She attempted to run her fingers through her hair, only to have them tangled in the mess. "Aw! And I spent forever brushing it this morning too!"

She considered turning back-- her hair needed serious maintenance, right away-- but then she gave the hills another longing look. As she had said to Brock, they had seen them earlier as they had journeyed by, and she was sure the view from the top would be fantastic.

She let out her breath, and gave her the bunch of hair she was holding a mournful look. Nice hair or not, she really wanted to see that view. Besides, it wasn't like anyone could see her, and there was plenty of time later to make it look more presentable.

Newly determined, she made her way to the hills, and began to walk up the slope. A pair of Beautifly fluttered by, and she smiled after the pair. How sweet, she thought.

Her smile quickly turned into a frown, though, as the wind blew bits of her hair into her mouth. She spluttered and coughed, trying to spit it out. "Blech!" she exclaimed, grimacing. She was pulling the last bits of hair out of her mouth when she suddenly noticed him, standing there at the hill's crest, his back turned to her.

Paul.

She froze. He had to have noticed her, she knew. She was too close by, and it wasn't like she had been trying to be quiet when she was trying to not choke on her own hair. Her hair. She touched it self-consciously, acutely aware of the damage the wind had done to it. He was the last person she wanted to see when she was such a mess-- and here she had been, thinking that at least no one was there to see her. She really needed to stop jinxing herself.

And it wasn't like she could just walk away. Paul would think that she was avoiding him. Or that she didn't like him. Or that--

Since when did she care what Paul thought, she wondered. She could still remember a time when she thought that he was the scum of the Pokemon world, but now-- it was different.

Very different.

She hadn't seen him in a while, not since that day in the caves. After he had left in the morning, she had been bombarded with question, both of her friends asking her what that had been all about. Ash had been satisfied with her vague reply about rainstorms and jackets, albeit confused that it had been _Paul_ of all people being nice to _her_, a girl whose name he never seemed to remember. As for Brock... he had just given her a searching look that she couldn't understand.

But life went on, and she had found herself wondering more then once about where he was, or what he was doing. And now here he was, in the flesh, and her hair was a mess. All thanks to that stupid wind. Just perfect.

She ran her fingers through her hair, fixing it the best she could with the wind blowing it every which way. That done, she stepped forward and walked up to him.

"Hey Paul," she greeted, desperately hoping he wouldn't notice how self-conscious she was feeling. She was acutely aware of every move she made, every word she said. This, she thought, was an odd feeling. "A little breezy today, isn't it?" She clasped her hands behind her back, swaying from side to side.

"That's an understatement." He glanced at her from the corner of his eye, his hands shoved into his pockets.

"I guess," she agreed. "I hate it when it's windy like this, don't you?"

"Not especially." His gaze returned to the view before them. It was just as pretty as Dawn thought it would be, but somehow it didn't incite the same feelings in her as it had before. Something else raced through her body, leaving her shaky and nervous, yet still somehow excited at the same time.

"I guess it wouldn't bother you too much-- you don't have long hair like I do." She froze. Did she really just say that? Did she really just raw attention to the one thing that she wanted him to ignore?

"No, I don't. And I don't see why that would be an issue."

Dawn decided to not risk her good fortune, and changed topics. Immediately. "So, what are you doing up here, anyways?" she asked.

"I'm looking for some powerful Pokemon. Up here is a good vantage point to look from."

The answer was so typically Paul that she wasn't sure if she should smile or frown.

A stronger gust of wind hit them, and she shivered, goose bumps rising on her arms. "Well, I'm here for the view," she said, rubbing her arms in an attempts to warm them up. "It's really pretty up here."

"Ah." He looked at her then, really looked at her. "Well, that makes sense."

"Hey!" she demanded hotly. "What's that supposed to mean!"

"You're a coordinator. It would make sense for you to admire things like this, since that's what contests are all about."

"...Oh." She calmed down, feeling placated. A faint blush spread across her cheeks. Or was that because of the wind? She shivered as another particularly strong gust hit them, and held her arms close to her body.

"Paul--" she said, then swallowed to keep her voice from breaking, "--What do you think of me?"

Her words caught up to her brain a moment later, and she flushed as red as a Cheri berry. Why did she have to ask a question like that? She looked down, preparing for a scathing retort of some sort. No matter how differently she saw him, she knew that Paul was still the same person. She shivered, but this time it was from nervousness, not the cold.

She nearly leapt out of her skin as warm cloth settled around her shoulders. "What?" she asked, looking up. "But, Paul--" She was cut off as he pulled her closer, and leaned down to kiss her.

"--mmph!" she exclaimed as he pulled away a moment later. If she had been a bright red before, she was even redder now. "Paul," she said again, a little breathlessly.

"You know," he said, "this would be more enjoyable if you talked less."

She made a noise that was somewhere between a squeak and a gasp as she heard her own words thrown back at her. She pulled back, and looked at him, really looked at him, and finally understood. Finally understood-- well, everything that had happened in the past weeks.

She let out a nervous giggle, then reached up to put her arms around his neck. She looked at him for another moment, hesitantly, then pulled him down for another kiss.

As they pulled apart one more time, she slid her hands down and entwined them with his. And when she saw a dash of pink touch his cheeks at the gesture, she smiled.

She had the feeling she would be seeing it a whole lot more in the days and weeks ahead of them.


End file.
